Description
Who: Municipality of Cambridgeshire, UK
What: Fossil ad ban in council policy.
When: 2022
In Cambridgeshire, a ban on advertising for fossil fuels is now council policy.
The policy reads:
'3.3. Without any limitation on the Council’s ability to exercise its discretion, the Council does not consider the following companies, partnerships, organisations or individuals as suitable for entering into advertising or sponsorship agreements with:
(a) those involved in the manufacture, distribution or wholesaling of tobacco-related products, alcohol, fossil fuels, pornography or addictive drugs;
...
(c) those whose business activities/practices do not align with the Council’s wider values, corporate objectives and strategic goals, such as the environment and carbon accounting;'
This policy forms a legal precedent in the UK, and is flagged in legal advice written by Richard Wald KC of 39 Essex Chambers as a useful and thorough template for other UK councils.
The policy also includes an exceptions clause, which is of legal use:
"3.9. Exceptions may be considered if the companies, partnerships, organisations or individuals involved can prove that less than 5% of their overall income is derived from any of the excluded items detailed in 3.3. This decision will made on a case by case basis by the Head of Procurement and Commercial and the Service Director for Finance and Procurement."
